Brandon Swanson was a 19 year old college student who one
night drove his car into a ditch, and whilst on the phone with his parents who were
actively trying to locate him, he screamed, ‘Oh sh**’, and was never to be heard from
or seen again.
Brandon attended the Minnesota Community and Technical
College, and was described as an intelligent and responsible young man. He
lived in rural Minnesota.
On the 14th of May 2008, Brandon attended a party
in Canby, which is approximately 30 miles from his home. Despite having a few
drinks, Brandon’s friends upon questioning had told police he didn’t seem
intoxicated, and so Brandon decided to drive home after the party.
Brandon’s usual route home was on a main road, however, the
road was closed this particular night, and so Brandon had to divert and take back
roads he was unfamiliar with, but had the knowledge that these roads would also
take him home. Due to Brandon’s unfamiliarity with these roads and the fact it
was pitch black outside, Brandon had drove his car into a ditch and so therefore
had to call for help.
Initially Brandon tried to ring friends, however failing to
get through to them, his last hope was to call his parents, which he did
reluctantly. After reaching his parents, Brandon told them he was near the city
of Lynd, about 10 miles from home. He told his parents he could see the lights
from the city ahead and he could hear running water, and told his parents he was
going to walk towards the city- or so he thought. His parents jumped in the car to drive towards Brandon, hoping to locate him and bring him home.
With his parents still on the phone, Brandon began walking
towards the lights in the distance, planning to meet his parents along the way.
All of a sudden, Brandon exclaimed, ‘Oh sh**’, and immediately after the phone
line disconnected. Despite efforts to contact Brandon again, his parents could
not reach him but continued searching.
After searching all night with no contact from Brandon
since, his parents reported him missing in the early hours of the morning. Following
this, the police launched an extensive search, even with bloodhounds to try and
locate Brandon.
See above a map of Brandon's different locations/ where he was meant to be
Brandon’s car was located in a ditch, however, in a completely
different location than Brandon initially thought. His car was found 20 miles
from the city of Lynd, near Taunton. Searches were then conducted in this
area, where bloodhounds brought investigators to a river where they believed Brandon’s
scent to be. With this lead they conducted an investigation, but no evidence
was found to confirm Brandon’s presence To this day, no further evidence has been found, and Brandon
still remains missing.
This case has gathered a few conspiracies as to what
actually happened.
Conspiracy 1- Drowning/ Accidental Death
Bloodhounds drew the search team to a river, which initially
indicated Brandon could have fallen in and drowned. Further investigation took
place, but no evidence was found, nor was Brandon’s body. Locals have said
despite it being called a river, it’s better described as a creek, and so quite
shallow so it’s unlikely Brandon would have drowned in it. Also after Brandon’s
disappearance, grates were put at the end of the river to trap any foreign objects in the
river, and there were so signs of Brandon’s body.
Brandon had said whilst on the phone with his Dad, he heard
running water, and so many have speculated he heard the river, and then when he
shouted ‘Oh s**t!’, that’s when he fell into the river, and then succumbed to
the elements, even if he did manage to pull himself out, it’s likely
hypothermia would have took over.
However, Brandon's body was never located, and so this challenges the validity of this theory.
Conspiracy 2- Foul Play
Considering the sheer lack of evidence, it is believed by
some that foul play is involved. This theory is fuelled by the lack of
evidence, as Brandon simply ‘vanished’. If Brandon had injured himself, drowned
or even fell into the river it’s likely by the time the search started he would
have succumbed to his injuries and his body would have been found. But even an
extensive search recovered no slight evidence to suggest what happened to
Brandon, which has lead people to believe foul play was involved and a scene
was covered up.
Abduction is also a theory. Some believe Brandon’s panic and
cry for help attracted someone with malicious intent, and that is why there was no evidence was found as Brandon then would have been in a completely unknown location.
Conspiracy 3- New life?
Over the years, there has been unconfirmed sightings of
Brandon, suggesting he may have started over and changed his identity. Brandon
had been ‘spotted’ in nearby towns including Marshall and Canby. There was also
reports from the night Brandon went missing of sightings at gas stations and
restaurants, and the young man in question fit Brandon’s description, however,
these could not be confirmed by local authorities.
What do I believe?
I personally believe that foul play is involved with Brandon’s
disappearance. No physical evidence was found, which leads me to believe a
scene was perhaps covered up or evidence was destroyed. Brandon has said to
have been happy and content within his life, and so I don’t personally believe
he did this as an act to start over with nobody coming to look for him. I think
it’s too coincidental for there to be no further evidence to even suggest what could
have happened to Brandon, leading me to believe there was something covered up.
What do you think happened to Brandon?
Information found from;
- @breannaaheim on tiktok- https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGddvrSdY/
- Reddit @r/UnsolvedMysteries- https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/1d5zq8v/disappearance_of_brandon_swanson/
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